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Abstract

In this paper we explore to what degree exposure to different types of reoccurring natural disasters is related to children’s exposure to sever deprivation across sixty-seven middle- and low-income countries (LMICs). First, we test whether there does indeed exist an adverse effect of recurrent disasters on child deprivation. Thereafter, we test whether the adverse effect of disasters is moderated by quality of government, i.e., by the governmental capacity to act proactively, prepare infrastructure, healthcare systems, etc., as well as to react properly once disaster is a fact. The analysis combines country-level data on disasters, compiled from the EM-DAT database, with micro-data on child deprivation, based on harmonized DHS and MICS data (n = 1941734). We conclude that recurrent disasters have very little to do with child deprivation in LMICs. What we can confirm is that that children, regardless of natural disasters, are less deprived in well-governed countries with good quality of government (QoG). Hence, children’s misfortune is not primarily caused by nature, but is instead most certainly manmade.